New York

NEW YORK (AP) The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with the coronavirus fell to the lowest point in nearly four months, state officials said Saturday.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo is predicting a new increase in cases amid outbreaks in other states.

``The only question is how far up our rate goes,'' Cuomo said in an interview with WAMC radio on Friday. ``You can't have it all across the country and not come back.``

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stood with operators of small businesses and Geva Theatre Wednesday calling for more help for those businesses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, said that Congress has already passed a five-week, short-term extension for the original Paycheck Protection Program. Now, he is proposing legislation that would extend the loan program to the end of the year and provide the option for a second loan for eligible small businesses, the so-called, Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program Act or P4.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  New York is now requiring people from three additional states to quarantine for 14 days as more individuals are testing positive for COVID-19 nationwide.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Tuesday press release that Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma now join a total of 19 states that qualify under New York's metrics for community spread.

Cuomo's advisory applies to states with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average, or states with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

More New Yorkers oppose defunding the police than support the idea, though their views vary widely based on race and political party, according to the results of a statewide poll by the Siena College Research Institute.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo railed on President Donald Trump during a news conference Monday in New York, saying the president should “start telling the people of this country the truth” and sign an executive order requiring masks to be worn in public nationwide.

Republicans, meanwhile, called on Democrats in the state Legislature to strip Cuomo of emergency law-making powers, saying the time has come to limit that authority.

Only five people died from COVID-19 in New York Saturday, marking the first time since the peak of the disease in April that the daily number of deaths statewide dropped to single digits, following several weeks of decline.

Hospitalizations from the disease also dropped Saturday, bringing the total number of people requiring treatment for the disease down to 869. Of those, 145 are intubated.

New York has hit another milestone in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic: hospitalizations from the disease have now dipped below 1,000 for the first time in about three months, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

And to keep that number low, Cuomo said New York state will be conducting random inspections of people who arrive from states with high infection rates of the disease.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has confirmed that the Finger Lakes and four other regions in the state are on track to enter Phase 4 of the reopening process on Friday.

But that process does not include reopening gyms, movie theaters and indoor shopping malls right now.

The Finger Lakes region is on target to enter Phase 4 of the reopening process on Friday. That’s what Bob Duffy, the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce president and CEO,  who also is an adviser on the region to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said on Tuesday.

Duffy had been on a call with Cuomo administration officials earlier in the day, and he said the data looks good for entering the next phase on Friday.

However, Duffy said some businesses will not reopen right away when this region enters Phase 4.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees and Mets would train in New York if Major League Baseball and its players try to start the coronavirus-delayed season.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement Saturday, and the teams confirmed the decisions. The Democrat said he would like to stop by to see them training.

"I think New York now is especially attractive, compared to the other states, because we have such a low transmission rate, and this is a state that is ready, willing and able to partner with sports teams so that they can play," Cuomo said.